Far-right Golden Dawn exploits darker side of Greece's discontent

Golden Dawn supporters lift torches as they take part in a ceremony in Thermopylae, outside Athens, Greece, September 5, 2015. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis -

THERMOPYLAE, Greece (Reuters) - Flaming torches raised, far-right Golden Dawn supporters dressed in black chanted the Greek national anthem as darkness fell on Thermopylae, where King Leonidas and 300 Spartans defied a vast Persian army in 480 BC.

Standing before them, a member of the European Parliament from Golden Dawn, the euro zone's most extreme right-wing political party, roused the crowd with defiant denunciations of enemies at home and abroad ahead of a national election on Sept. 20.